Campus Carry Bills Advancing Nationwide

Several states moved this year to let law-abiding adults carry firearms on public college campuses, forcing a national conversation about whether gun-free zones make students safer or just more vulnerable.

State of play: Three states made concrete moves in 2025. Florida and Utah passed bills. New Hampshire's HB1793 cleared the House in February and heads to a Senate hearing.

• Florida's HB 757 extends the existing K-12 "guardian program" to universities — select professors and staff can carry after training and a psych eval.
• Utah went further: Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill allowing anyone 21 or older to carry concealed on public campuses without a permit.
• New Hampshire's HB1793 would allow any law-abiding adult to carry on public college campuses. Sponsor Rep. Samuel Farrington is himself a UNH senior.

Louisiana pulled its bill in March — not because of opposition from legislators, but because the students who requested the bill couldn't show up to testify. Sponsor Rep. Danny McCormick said he'd refile next year. Wyoming and South Dakota proposals also died this session.

William Sack, attorney and director of legal operations at the Second Amendment Foundation, put it plainly:

"The philosophical foundation for the Second Amendment is the right to self-defense, and our right to protect ourselves and others from criminal violence is no different at a university than it is at a gas station, supermarket, or coffee shop."

Reality check: The "Wild West" framing that student opponents keep reaching for doesn't match the track record in states that already allow campus carry. Utah has permitted it for years. The feared chaos hasn't materialized. What has materialized is a legal framework where a 22-year-old with a valid carry permit — who can legally carry everywhere else in the state — loses that right the moment they step onto a public university campus. That's the inconsistency these bills are trying to fix.

Yes, but: Opposition isn't going away. Everytown for Gun Safety argues that alcohol use and mental health pressures on campuses create heightened risk. Some student groups in Florida warned of a "Wild West" situation. These concerns aren't fabricated — but they also apply to every bar district, apartment complex, and parking garage in America where carry is already legal.

What to watch: New Hampshire's Senate hearing is the immediate test. If HB1793 passes there and gets signed, it becomes another data point in a growing body of states that have expanded campus carry without the predicted bloodbath. Watch also whether Louisiana refiles — McCormick said he would, and that state's legislative calendar will tell us whether the student support was real or just momentary.

The bottom line: The momentum is real and it's moving in one direction. Permit-holders don't stop being responsible adults at the campus gate.